Fact Sheet: 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program
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Program Overview and Participation
EPA launched the PFOA Stewardship Program in January 2006 because of concerns about the impact of PFOA and long-chain PFAS on human health and the environment, including concerns about their persistence, presence in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, long half-life in people, and developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals.
EPA asked the following eight major companies in the PFAS industry to commit to reducing PFOA from facility emissions and product content by 95 percent no later than 2010, and to work toward eliminating PFOA from emissions and product content no later than 2015.
- Arkema
- Asahi
- BASF Corporation (successor to Ciba)
- Clariant
- Daikin
- 3M/Dyneon
- DuPont
- Solvay Solexis
Each of the eight companies expressed support for a global stewardship program addressing reductions in PFOA and related chemicals from both emissions and product content. Companies also noted their willingness to make a general commitment to continue to pursue research into the sources, pathways of exposure, and potential risks of these chemicals. All eight of the companies submitted commitments to the PFOA Stewardship Program by March 1, 2006.
Participating companies:
- Submitted baseline data on emissions and product content at the end of October 2006.
- Reported annual progress toward goals each succeeding October and report progress in terms of both U.S. and global operations. Final reports were submitted in early 2016.
- Companies also agreed to work cooperatively with EPA and establish scientifically credible analytical standards and laboratory methods to ensure comparability of reporting.
All public documents from the PFOA Stewardship Program are available in EPA Docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2006-0621.
Program Results
All participating companies state that they met the PFOA Stewardship Program goals. Read the latest progress reports.
As a means of measuring reductions, the PFOA Stewardship Program Reporting Guidance suggested that individual companies use year 2000 data as the baseline for their company's emissions and product content information. Companies that did not have year 2000 data available were to use as a baseline the nearest year for which data were available. Read the PFOA Stewardship Program Guidance document.
In addition, to account for all of their operations or products, some companies used more than a single baseline year. Read the PFOA Stewardship Program Baseline Summary Tables.
To meet the program goals, most companies stopped manufacture and import of long-chain PFAS, and then transitioned to alternative chemicals. Other companies exited the PFASs industry altogether.
Companies submitted annual public reports on their progress toward the goals in October of each successive year, expressing their progress in terms of company-wide percentage achievements both for U.S. operations and for the company's global business. Companies also provided to EPA detailed, confidential business information (CBI) on their progress in support of their public reports.
Manufacture and Import of Long-Chain PFAS
PFOS was not reported as manufactured (including imported) into the U.S. as part of the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) effort or the previous collection effort in 2006. CDR requires manufacturers (including importers) to report if they meet certain production volume thresholds, generally 25,000 lbs at a single site. The last time PFOS manufacture was reported to EPA as part of this collection effort was 2002. There are some limited ongoing uses of PFOS (see 40 CFR §721.9582). To access the data, go to EPA's Access CDR Data webpage.
Domestic production and import of PFOA has been phased out in the United States by the companies participating in the 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program. Quantities of PFOA may be produced, imported, and used by companies not participating in the PFOA Stewardship Program and some uses of PFOS are ongoing.
In addition, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database of annual toxic chemical release and waste management data reported by certain facilities under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know-Act (EPCRA). For information on PFAS chemicals listed under TRI, visit EPA’s TRI Program Website.
EPA Actions on PFAS
EPA is committed to tackling PFAS contamination through better testing and detection, direct community support, enforcement, clear public education, commonsense regulation, and cutting-edge research so families across the country can have safer drinking water and cleaner environments.
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